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1. A. Bow, P. THILLM. E. WHEPLER.

FURNACE BINDING.

APPLICATION EILED 950.17.1914.

Patented Aug. '1, 1916.

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7 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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III

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. A. BOW, P. THILL I A. E. WHEELER.

FURNACE BINDING.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I7. I9I4.

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FURNACE BINDING.

APPLICATION FILED nEc.I7, |914.

l. A. BOW, P. THILL & A. E. WHEELER.

FURNACE BINDING.

APPLlCATiON FILED DEC. 17. 1914.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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1. A. Bow,`E. 11111111 A. E. WHEELER.`

FURNACE BINDING.

APPLlcATloN FILED DEc.17. 1914.

1.13.1.. mentedAug. 1,1916.

SHEETS-SHEET 5.

y F al ,'E' E' ai I l. A. BOW,'P. THI'LL 6L A. E. WHEELER.

FURNACE BINDING.

APPLICATION men nEc.17.1914.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

LEU.

I. A, BOW, P. THILL & A; E. WHEELER.

A FURNACE BINDING.

- APPLICATION FILED` DEC. I7. 1914. 1,193,1@9- Pa1en1ed11ug11916.

TSHEETS-SHEET 7- 11.1 it i JAMES A. BOW AND PETER THILL, F GREAT FALLS, MONTANA, AND ARCHER E.

WHEELER, 0F LONDON, ENGLAND.

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maaien.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1, 19106.

application mea amitier-17, 1914.. sensi No. 877,707.

To all whom it mayl concern lBe it known that we, JAMES A. Bow,PE

TER THILL, and ARCHER E. WHEELER, citizens of the United States, the said JAMES A.

Bow and PETER THILL residing at Great Falls, in the county of Cascade, State of fMontana, and the said ARCHER lE. WHEELER residing in London, England, have' invented certain new -and useful llmprovement'sin Furnace-Bindings, of which the followin is av full,` clear, and .exact description, re erence being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

(Our invention has relation to improve-v mentsinfurnace bindings; and it consists 1n the novel features 'ofconstruction more fully set forth in the-'specification andpointin which the wall is' reinforced `between buckstays by struts extending from the-- ed out in the claims.

\ lIn the drawings, Figure 1 is a combined top plan and a horizontal section-taken below the skew-back ofxone-half of a reverberatory furnace, showing our invention apyplied thereto,with some of the parts omitted; v

Fig. 2 isa similar view of the complementary half or continuation of the portion of the furnace shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a middle vertical longitudinal section of the half of the `furnace shown in Fig. 1 withl` parts in side elevation; Fig. 4 is a middle vertical lo'ngitudinz'tl section of the vhalf shown in Fig. 2 ;"Fig.` 5 is an enlarged vertical cross-section on the line 5 5 of Fig. .3; Fig. 6 isa vertical cross-'section on the line tr-'of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is an. enlarged vertical cross-section on the line.71'7 of Fig. I4; Fig.

' 8 is an enlarged horizontal sectional detail on the line 8 8 of Fig. 3; Fig; 9 is a' face view of the adjustable strut 'forthe buckstay; Fig. 10v is a view of the strut taken at right angles to Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a cross-section on lthe line 11-11 of Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a top plan of the equalizer member of the strut, detached; Fig. 13 is a top plan of vthe modification shown in Fig. 14; Fig. 14 is a side elevation of-a modified form-of binding skew-back toa bottom stiifening member; Fig. 15 is a vertical cross-section on the line 15-15 of Fig. 14; Fig. 16 1s a diagrammatic plan of a form of binding showin the skewback beams secured` to the buc ays'4 and spliced together; Fig. 17 is a diagrammatic plan of a reverberatoryfurnace showing the naces, and particularly those of the. reverberatory furnace type; and has for its ob- -ject (l) to reduce the quantity of material entering into the binding of furnaces as now 'generally constructed; (2) to prevent what may be termed secondary expansion of the furnace, or that resulting from the heating of a cooled furnace which at-some time vprevious had undergone a ii'rst heating and la consequentunitlal vor prlmary expansion; v(3) to provide a binding in which a single element combines the functions of two or more elements under the old forms of buc'kstaying; (4) to provide a continuous wall-support or casing disposed as a teny sionplatearound the `walls of the furnace, to take care of a primary expansion, and to ,prevent a secondary'expansion; (5) to provide for said casing' an extra reinforcing band or skew-back support, operating as a tension member for taking the eXtra stress of the skew-back` thrust; (6) to provide means for anchoring the casing against upward displacement vwith any vertical eX- pansion of the furnace walls; (7) to provide a` binding of substantially uniformdesign so as to equalize as much as possible the tension thereof at all points,l under a stress dueto expansion of the furnace, and

to maintain a substantially uniform coeiiicient of expansion throughout; (8) to proportion the buckstays so that two .opposing stays may serve to support a section of roof Whose length is substantially equal to the width of the roof'or dimension thereof vbetween said opposing stays; (9)' to pro` vide a plate or casing the horlzontal -curve of which between consecutive buckstays shall 'conform tothe longitudinal stress in the plate due to the thrust ofthe skew-back;

(10) to provide a series of adjustable struts engaging the buckstays whereby the latter may be accurately adjusted Vtothe thrust of the skew-back; and (11) to provide further and other features., and apply other princiyples of construction the advantages of which l will be. apparent fromadetailed description of the` invention, which is as follows:

Referring to the drawings, F represents a reverberatory furnace with, arched roof, A the fire box, H the hearth, and S the skewbackq. the whole resting on a foundation D preferably of poured slag, bounded by brickwork E and a concrete floor C. The features alluded to are well understood so far as their general character is concerned and in themselves form no part of our .present invention. Inrorder to understand the invention however, it will be necessary to give a-/brief description of some of these features of construction with special reference to the bucksta-ying or binding. As is probably known,

the hearth of the furnace may be a bed of granulated silica, or other suitable, refractory material, which will have no expansive ei'ect upon the binding'when under the influence of heat; or it may be an inverted archl (as shown) which may have more or less thrust upon lthe side 4and end walls, and

hence upon the binding. The side walls are,

usually provided with Some form of vertical.

expansion joint in the brick-work to take up the'longitudinal expansion dueto heat. But in many of the'usual yforms of expansion joint in actual use there is very little take up and hence considerable longitudinalexpansion ofthe furnace; This must be accompanied by loosening of nuts or turnbuckles in thehbinding to prevent breakage of same. As will beshown later, it

would not be practicable to make the binding of sufficient strength. to actually prevent the longitudinal expansion of the walls unless the expansion joints referred to were such as to .close up under reasonable force. That -which pertains to the side walls with regard to expansion applies with equal force to the end walls. 'But-the principal-partof the furnace to be taken care of in the matter. of

.A expansion, and the part that requires prac- The thickness usually ranges from'9 to`20 inches.

In'some cases the thickness is uniform for the entire length of thefurnace and in othersit is thicker at the combustion end Where it wears out more rapidly. It is constructed of bricks set on end, or radially.; so that the length o f the brick represents the bricks being all wedges, which vwould be theoretically correct, they are aboutSO per cent. straights and 20 per cent. wedges.

l*The wedges 'are,'of course, allin courses vby..

themselves, and the Wedge coursesvare uni-.i

formly spaced among the straights, and, ob-

viously 'sufficiently beveled to compensate for lthe, straights. This use ofr both wedges andv straights is due to practical reasons',-

and for all practical purposes the roof is just thesame as if constructed of all wedges. At any rate, it is of no importance in the scheme of our invention. the relation of the rise of the arch to the thickness of the roofand the span is such lskew-.back to skew-back. These yexpansion joints are clear, straight openings extending through the roof, several inches in width. They are covered during the heating up of the furnace, and until they close by expansion, by bricks laid across on top, spanning the opening. As these expansion joints are clear openings right across there is no resistance in the closing up of same from the expansion of the brickwork, such as in the case ofthe usual expansion joints in the walls. And these roof expansion joints are sufficient to take care of all longitudinal expansion of the roof; so that this element of lfurnace expansion does not enter into the fbinding yproblem at all.

The most important part' of the problem ".of furnace binding is that which deals with the lateral, or cross, expansion of the roof. And in order to understand one of the features of` thisv problem which 'feature 1s of method of laying same. The brick range inl size from the standard 9"x11.x21 to A20x6x3. The different sizes,.of course,

are not mixed, that is, any given thickness of roof is constructed ofonly one 'slzed brick,

In all furnaces importance 'in this invention, it will bey except with such variations las will be described later. As stated before, the brick are laid von end,'or lengthwise with the radius of theA arch, and with the next longest dimension of thebrick longitudinally with the ,furnace They are vlaid in continuons courses 'lengthwise with the furnace, with the exception of'being.interrupted at the cross expansion joints-- a previously inentioned'. 'The thicknessof these courses represents the thickness of the bricks. `Between expansion joints the bricks in-every. course Abreak jolntswlth tlefbricks 1n the courses on each side. The expansion joints are straight and unbroken across the roof, and

the edges are kept straight by having the brick next to the expansion joint in every alternate course,- on both sides ofthe expan- -,tu Y 400 deg'. Therefore, as willv beeyide'nt,

mosaico sion joint, half as wide againasthe other bricks.- Thus, this wide brick to .break bond9 for a 9 inch roof would be 9X6x2% instead of-9X4} .X2.' (See Fig. 1 and Fig. 2).' Thus the roof is divided into sections v'constructionally, each section being `toi extend over a periodof a -week or'two) the walls-and the roof' expand; The walls are allowed to expandA upwardly" freely, only` being vresistedby the weight ofthe roof and the friction` against the buckstaying at the skewba'ck due to the thrust of the arch.`

The longitudinal expansion of the. wallsmay be prevented by having the binding of suff ficient strength to force the'vertical eXpansion joints a -in the wallsto close...` 0r the wallsmay beallowed to expand longitudiz` nally and the binding let out accordingly, to. prevent breakage. The longitudinal veX- pansion of the roof is .taken care of, asstated before, by `closing of thev roof expansion As intimated previously the mosti-"impor` tant feature of thejfurnace expansionin the process of heating is the lateral,` or'cross, expansion lof theroof. .If the buckstays are not let out in .accordance vwith thisreXpansion, of course all of such expansion willbemanifc'sted in the rising ofthe roof. -flBut lbefore goingany further itwill loe-advisable toeX- ing andexpansion of the roof and'y its re# sults.v The .te'mperature of the furnace inside is raised to` about 2,800 degljlf., and the funderside of the `roof is raised to v approXi-v mately this temperature. -But the upper or outside offtheroof, due to 'the non-conducting property 4ofg the*fbrick, -does "not heated beyondaitemperature of BOQ'deg. or

the-individual bricks expand to# a, much greater eitent 4at the lower: end thanat the upper, and 'the adjustmentofv thebuckstaysf toletioilt'tl'i lskewfbacks must befmade to, Y .suit the conditionf iof' greatest? expansion, vwhich is on the under 'sidexof the roof.y Belv v 'ca'usejevenl at the'liigh temperature to which the'brck is subjected at'the lower, or innery end, it does not soften or compress; f but has sufficient strength to. cause the arch` to l rise undulyif not allowed to. expand laterally by letting out the skew-backs. Thus,

.dit

through the widening of the roof to corre*- spondwitb.' the 'expansion of the inner ends getv f atany point in theroof is :jof byplacing a strut the'l high point in 'Jzhe of the bricks, the upper side of the roof opens up at the joints between bricks. Tn other words, the bricks will be in contact only at their lower ends. This will evidently produce in the roof a condition of what could properly be called unstable equilibrium. When the roof is built, the bricks are all laid in contact for their full length from top to bottom. This makes the arch rigid, the degree of rigidity depending, of course fupon the span .of the arch, and the depth of same, or the length of the brick. Now, if the roof were heated up uniformly all through, as well as all over the entire area of same, and the skew-backs were let out to correspond to the expansion (of course there would necessarily be. a

.slight rise of the roof any way to correttt vpractically to so ladjust `the skew-backs as'to i y keep thel bricks in contact from top to bottom, and therefore impossible to prevent the `'conditio n of" what has been called unstable equilibrium. Now, experience shows that there is very little uniformity in the l movement of the roof during the heating up process; more often than otherwise it rises thegreatest amount in the center. But the point of greatest rise is apt tov be some disf tance 0H' .the center, making the arch unsymmetrical; and if not properly taken care pof, is apt-to settle unduly Vamine more y1n detall the'nature 'of the heat-- on the opposite Even with the arch rising symmetrically, it sometimes settles too much. on each@ side .and would. causercollapse of the roof if nottaken care of intime.

The rising ofthe arch tends to vary more or less, atv dili'erent `sections a1ong the roof. This erratic 'behavior of theroof is in accordance withv .the condition of unstable equilibrium referred. to.

easily ,taken care (or small timber) on roof, with the 4upper en dxof the strut against a beam or any fairly ri'gidfypart' of the structure above the fur nace.; or even against the-buckstay tie rods. 'llt doesnot take a great deal to resist the furtherfmovement ofA the arch at the high spot,"and any further risewould have to oc- Any undue rise cur in another part of the cross-section. Or

'a low part ofthe roof could be forced up by strutting against the high part in the same cross-sectlon and lforcing the skew-backs in tice, which eliminates to a great extent the condition ofl unstable equilibrium of the roof `when heated up and expanded, s and even eliminates the necessity of letting out `the skew-backs. After a furnace gets heated up to its working temperature, expansion y ceases', and the roof does not move any farther. The buckstaying requires no further attention until the furnace is to be cooled down again. Then operations must be rc1 versed, the skew-backs forced in by tightening the rods as the brick-work contracts untilthe furnace is cooled down completely.

The foregoing illustrates part of the problem of handling thereof. But before going any further, a brief description of ordinary buckstaying will be given, in order to make clear, by comparison, the novelty of the binding which is the subject of the present invention.- y Y The ordinary reverberatory furnace binding, or buckstaying, consists of a series of I- beams (buckstays) 1, placed vertically, from several inches to several feet apart, around the outside of the furnace, (Figs. 18, 19), with tie rods 2 connecting the upper ends of the I-'beams across the top of the furnace. The lower ends ofthe I-beams or buckstays extend below the floor line, usually two feet or more, and are held from being forced outward either by tie rods extendmg through `underneathv the furnace connecting the I- beams on opposite sides; or by abutting against the ground which is made specially solid) for this purpose. `The I-beams are spaced fartherapart where door and tap holes occur. TheI-beams or buckstays, at.

l the ends of the furnacefare connected by tie rods 3, which extend the full length of the furnace. .These'end buckst-ays do not assist l in supporting the roof but only serve to restrict the longitudinal expansion of the walls of the furnace. The side buckstays withthe v cross tie rods 2 are the vital part of the bind-l ing as far as adjustment and maintenance y of the roof is concerned. The buckstays are held at the top and at the bottom against the thrust of the roof skewback, and are thus vertical beams. Thereis usually a channel, or other structural shape (not shown) extending along the outside of the furnace wall at the skew-.back1in e,and against `which the bucks'tays bear in order to distribute thepressure. vThe cross tie rods are spa-ced several feet apart, and to distribute the load of each tie rod over several buckstays,a cuple of rails 4 are provided, extending longitudinally at the upper end of the buckstays.

- Now, this is the point in the description at which it is opportune to explain an important feature in the relationship between the maintenace of the roof, or arch, and the pressure of the buckstays on the skewbacks. As just explained, the buckst'ays are placed usually close together along the sides texcept at doors and tap holes), and the tie rods connecting the upper 4ends of buckstays, across thefurnace, are spaced a few feet apart-probably four or five feet, or more. And to again repeat, the pull of the tie rods is applied to the buckstays through the medium of a couple of rails l extending longitudinally along the outside of the buckstays close to the top of same. The ends of the tie ,rods go between these rails and through a large washer 5 which clamps over the rails. Thus, although the tie rods are spaced several feet apart, they hold all vthe buckstays between, as shown in Figs. 18 and 19. The strength of the buckstays and of the tie rods is supposedly such that when all are stressed about equally they are capable of holding the thrust of the skewback with safety. This equal stressing is maintained by adjustment of the individual tie-rods. Assuming now, a certain distance between tie-rods,4 say four feet: If the roof were constructed of four foot sections and the scctions not connected together (say an expansion joint a extended across from skew-back to skew-back between sections), then each tie rod would have only its own four foot section to hold. And presuming a certain amountof flexibility in the skew-back construction the tightening or loosening of any tie rod would not affect the tension of the tie rods on either side of it, but would simply act to raise or lower the four foot section of roof or arch under the tie rod in question (within the limits of the flexibility of the skew-back, of course). Thus each tie rod, with its buckstays, could .only .take its share ofthe skew-back thrust, and could notybe overloaded, provided it was designed in accordance With the statement made previously that when all tie. rods and bnckstays are equally Stressed they are capable of holding the skew-back thrust with safety. yIt must be understood, of course, that the rise of the arch must never au any time be allowed to go below a certainl point, or in other words,

thearch must never" be allowed to get too flat, as it could obviously easily reach a point ,at which no buckstaymg or binding could b made strong enough to prevent its collapsing. The flatter the arch is allowed to become, the., reater the strain upon the tie rods and buc stays.

Having just considered the case of the Iroof being constructed insuch a manner as Vto give a flexlbihty which would make the tie rods all take their share of the load at al1"times,'within the limits of practicable n site extreme, in which the whole roof isl rigid longitudinally; that is, all bonded to` gether from one end to the other without any cross expansion join'ts. rllhe roof would tilt aldeanos adjustment, let us now consider the oppostill have lateral flexibility; that is, the arch could rise or fall accordingxasthe skewbacks went in or out, for as the brickwork were allowed to expand or contract byi changes of temperature.. But the whole length of the roof would have to rise or fall together. And if the adjustments were made by the manipulation of the buckstays, all would have to be adjusted together, because if one or more of the tie rods were lengthened out all the load from the thrust of the skew-backs would fall upon the relnainder of the rods. (f course, in actual practice the tie rods are really adjusted one at a time; but eachis adjusted only a small amount at a time so as to prevent too great a variation in the stress in any of them.

And in the course of a general adjustment such as takes place in the heating up or cooling down of the furnace a goodv many rounds are made). Now this case of a longitudinally rigid. roof, 21e., rigid for the full length, is impracticable in any but a furnace which is very short for its width, and never occurs in large modern copper rcverberatories. And, as will be Iseen by a study of the roof construction, if the ratio of the length ofthe roof to the width is beyond. a certain amount, it would beimpossible to bond the brick together so as to make the roof longitudinally rigid, or in other words, act. as amunit, from one end to the other. lt must be explained, of course, that the only lforces utilized in keeping the brick-'work together are' thoseof the attraction of gravity and of pressure' there is no cement used that wouldV give the bonding any appreciable tensile strength. So that the problem ils nowl to see what length-of roof can be bonded together to give longitudinal rigidity, with the usual way of laying the bricks, and also what length of roof is usually made a rigid unit in actual practice. In the. first place, with regard to the,

method of laving the roof brick, this has already been described and need not be repeated. But it will be Arecollected that `the bricks are placed edge to edge 1n longitudinal courses, and that thebricks lnlevery course break joints avith those in the course on each side, or in other words, they break bond every course. Now suppose the roof were built with these courses continuous throughout; that is,`witho ut any cross eX- pansion joints, such as a, and assume that one of the cross tie rods 2 (say one at a suitable distance from either end of the furnace) were to be left in tension, and the tie rods on both Sides of this first tie rod 'tw were slackened unduly, then there would lfour zig-zag lines would be maintamed by the single tie rod 2, while the re-l mainder of the roof would fall away as the tie rods on either side are slackened. These linesof failure make an angle of substantially degrees with the skew-back, or with the center line of the furnace. This will be obvious when it-is recollected that vthe joints of each course are midwaybetween those of the courses on either side, and that the thickness ofthe brick is equal to half the width. (In case of the 9 brick this is not exactly true, the lines of failure would make ay greater angle with the skewback, as the thickness of the brick than half the width). lt is hardly necesis greater j sary to mane any4 attempt to explain why the lines of failure branch out from the point of support. A study of the conditions of bonding of the brick will make this obl vious. It will be noticed that these lines of failure start at some distance on either side of the point of pressure of the buckstay, Adepending uponwhat lengthof skew-back lis supported by the single tie rod.- The length-ofroof at the ridge that would -be supported by a single tie rod, is a little greater (except in the case of the 9" brick.

perhaps) than` the vwidth of the furnace (F ig. 17) and with the sizes and shapes of bricks usually employed in roof construction, this would be the greatest possible length of roof that could throw its weight on a single tie rod, provided, of course, that the number of buckstays that were held by i' a single tie rod wereV not such as to unduly increase the length of supported skew-back. Uf course the diamond shaped area included within the lines of 'failure w, is practically the only portion of the roof supported by the single tie rod. But the four triangular corner portions needed .to complete the section of roof that is represented in length by the distance between the intersecting points on the center line, would add acomparatively' small amount to the thrust upon the skew-back, as a mathematical investigation would show. Any way, it would per-' haps be the best practical .way to assume* that the greatest length of roof that could v `depend upon a single tie rod would be that ,equal substantially to the width of the fur- Now experience shows, that the mainteupon. The lresult is that in the course. of

j time the buckstays get badly bent, `andthe tie rods occasionallybreak. Although as previously stated, the buckstays and tie rods are usually designed so that with reasonable uniformity of stress they are safe against overloading; nevertheless in order that the binding would be perfectly safe against overstressing, each of the tie rods should be Vdesigned to take the weight of the greatest length of roof that could come upon it, and

' the buckstays designed accordingly. But

with the usual style oflbinding, lwith the buckstays and tie rods so close together, this would mean a tremendous increase 1n the amount of steel worlnand add considei-, ably to the costl of the furnace. Now tol overcome this difliculty. among others`,'and to give Ithe binding the necessary strength and,l security as illustrated, is one of the principal objects of our invention. The

principle by which this is accomplished will now be described: Suppose.. instead of placing the buckstays a few inches, and the tie rods about four or five feet,'apart, as is the present practice. they were both spaced a distance apart equal to aboutthe width of the furnace. which wouldl be '25 feet or more in the large modern furnaces. Then sup# pose. they were designed to take with safety v the load of the 25 ft. or more of roof that would be allotted to eachpair ,of buckstays and tie rod. Then. as has just-been demon strated, they would be designed to take the greatest practicable load that couldscomefl upon them, and they would be loaded close to their maximum safe capacity at all times.

and they would never, or could never, be

overloaded, unless. as shown before, the

roof were allowed to get too flat. (And as previously stated, if this condition'were allowed to come to pass, no binding could be made strong enough' to preventthe collapse of theJ roof. ,But such a condition could only result through gross carelessness, and would' be entirely inexcusable.) With the binding designed as described, there would be no surplus material: hence,if it is not ,already obvious, investigation would show that in-addition to 'the items of greater safety and foolproofness, in the matter of leconomy the new system would compare fa-l -stays. all that is necessary is to provide beams 6 between the buckstays, at the skew Atogether generally.

Thus the entire length of skewback is taken care of. Thatportion of the walls between the buckstays, and `below the skew-back beams,.would, lin the course of time, fail bv bulging outward, unless provided with frev quent supports on thel outside. In the old style of binding the buckstays themselves provide this support. Bilt in our new style of binding, with buckstays a long distance apart. and a beam along the skew-back line only, then wall is supported either-by a series of small upright members T or their equivalents attached, at the top to the skewback beam 6 and at the bottom to a special Hoor menber 8 (Fig. 14) or, by a series of horizontal stifeners 7', to and between adjacent buckstays. Where doors orl tap holes occur, special frames 9, preferably of cast iron, are provided, and attached to the bindingj in any suitable mechanical manner (Figs. 1. 2, 7,). Thus the entire longitudinal walls andthe roof, vas far as the binding is-concerned, are taken care of.

So far very little has been said about the end buckstays and the longitudinal tie rods 3 connecting same in the old construction. As stated before.A this Apart of the Abinding is not to hold the roof, but justto limit the longitudinal expansion of the walls, and to assist inholding the furnace But before goinginto the 'method of longitudinal binding as developed in our invention it will be opportune to explain the reason,or the necessity for it. And in conjunction with this explanation another Aimportant pringiple in furnace expansion and contraction under extremes of temperature will be brought out. In the first place, with regardto one of the ordinary phenomena of furnace expansion, aside from the part the roof plays: When the furnace is heated up for the first time, there is an expansion in all directions. The Vwalls expand longitudinally, and (with the ordinary style of binding) the end buckstays 1 must be let out, or the tie rods 3 would be broken.l This action of thelfurnace depends upon the condition that if there are any expansion joints in the walls they are designed, as is usually the case, in such a way that the force required to close them is greater than can be brought to bear by the ordinary style of binding. 'hen the furnace cooled down again (at the end of the campaign, which may be of several months duration) it does not contract. Then when it is heated up again, after such repairs as were necessary, are made, new pressure comes upon the binding. and it is let out again, and so on, the fur` nace keeps growing with each campaign. Of course the side buckstays 1V and cross tie y wir e joints, and that all the bricks are laid close together, with very thin joints of fire clay, or silica, mortar (which is the usual .practice). The bricks are all bonded together horizontally in' both-'directions in every course, and every course breaks joints with the courses above and below it. But vertl-4 cally there is no bond; or -in other Words, the courses are simply laid one upon another as in any ordinary brick construction. lin fact the Whole method. of construction is similar to that of a Wall in any brick building, with the exception thatthe cross bonding is more Vthorough and the joints arel much thinner. Now, when the furnace, and

'hence this section of Wall, is heatedup the bricks expand. (0f course the inside bricks', that is the bricks on the inside-face of the Wall, being. the hottest, expand the most). And as the bricks are laid asclose together as possible the expanding, of the bricks of necessity expands lthe Wall. rlhis might be called the, initial, expansion of the brick- Work. .To prevent this expansion would require a force greater than canbe applied by any of the usual styles' of buckstaying, or binding; and greater than can be applied by any binding that would come Within reasonable practical strength. l)Because obviously, it would have to be strongenough` to crush the brickwork. 'llhus it would be better not to have the binding of such strength; and in fact it would not be of essential importance to prevent this "initial,7`

expansion anyway. This initialI expansion is takencare of in practice by two expedients.. @ne is to provide expansion joints af in the Walls at intervals, although in many cases these expansionjoints areso designed and constructed thatthey are of little use, as it takes too great oa force to make them close up. rllhe other expedient is to slacken j the binding according to the necessities of f the case. lhis invention provides anadditional method Which involves a different principle, Which Will be explained in due time. New, as long as the temperature of the furnace is maintained,l after'this first heating up, and initial expansion, the di# mensions Will remain constant, and there will be no further change inthe section of Wall in question. But, when the furnace is cooled down, the Wall does notI contract horizontally, although the bricks will all contract in all directions individually. The reason for this action is the Weak cohesive and adhesive properties of the mortar that is used. in furnace construction.' lt requires a positive force to'pull or push the bricks together: as they contract; and unless this force is supplied by the binding, the Wall does not contract. Of course the Wall will contract vertically, due te the vfonce of gravity, unless prevented on account of other conditions, which will be dealt with later. ln consequence of this contraction of the individual bricks,` but non-contraction of the wall as a Whole, therel obviously results a condition in which the bricks may be considered as separated. horizontally by minute spaces, or vertical cracks. But, as intimated before, there are no horizontal cracks, foi the obvious reason that the force ofugravity keeps l the Wall together vertica y.

We have now reached the condition in which the furnace had'been vheated up and expanded, and then cooled down, but not contracted, although the individual bricks have all contracted', and consequently are separated by'minute vertical cracks. Now, if the bricks were not bonded together horizontally, but were simply laid'up in vertical piles, with the vertical joints continuous traA (which method 'of constructing the Walls 1 would be impractical) the vertical cracks of course, would be continuous; and When the furnace Washeated up the second time the bricks would expand and these vertical crackswould close up, and theoretically and practically there would be no additional expansion of the wall as a whole. But, due to vthe fact that the bricks are bonded together horizontally; when they gexpand again due to heat, if the section of Wall in question is held against further lexpansion vas a Whole there must obviously be a slipping of the bricks oneach other, accompanied by considerable frictional resistance. Ur in other. words, the 'action'of the bricks ot the ldifferent courses uponl each other corre- `sponds 1n principle to that of a multiple disk clutcl.

and close up these cracks unless the Wall vvere'held at the ends to prevent yexpansion asa Whole. Rather, the frictional resistance,'due to the multiple'disk clutch action mentioned7 Would tend to force the Wall as a Whole to additional expansion; and

tion of the bricks, and the third heating up, there would be still further expansion kof So that, although there are slight vertical cracks separating the bricks from each other, due to the previous contraction, the bricks would not slide together lll@ ' with the second coolingv down, and contrac- I ltd the Wall. And'so on, with each successive cycle .of cooling down and heating up the wall, a furnace, if not resisted by the binding would increase in dimensions, orWould ymight be termed secondary expansion.

The "initial"^`, or primary expansion, previously mentioned, 1t will be recollected, 1S the expansion 4of the wall or furnace resultingY from the, iirst heating up of the brick-j work, when all the bricks vare in contact, horizontally as well as vertically, and to resist which expansion too much, would necessarilycrush the bricks. Now although, as vstated before. this primary expansion of the brickwork is an action which it would not be practicable to prevent. the secondary expansion 'can be, and should be prevented, if it is desirable to keep the furnace in propel; and lasting condition. And, although the usual st vle of binding is generally not made stron-g enough to resist this secondaryexpansion. the binding designed according to the principle of our present invention can very` easily be made so. One of the important features of our new binding, is, that whereas in thev old system of bindingfor each function of the expansion process,` separate members in the binding system are provided to take care of same, in" the new system/certain members are made to combine the functions of two or more members ot' the old system. To illustrate: In the old system. with regard to the longitudinal tie rods 3 and end buckstays 1. they perform no other function than that above specified, that is to say, to limit the longitudinal ex- I pansion of the walls and to assist in holding together the furnace generally. Also. the longitudinal rails 1 at the top of the buckstays 1.' and the corresponding rails -l atthe top of the terminal buckstays 1. for distributing the load of the tie rods. perform no other function. And again, the skewback rails.v or channels 6 (or whatever shape is used there),y perform no other function than to distribute the pressure of the buckstays along theskew-back, and keep same in alinement. Now. although one of these ele-` ments. viz., the rails -1 (1') at the top of the buckstays are not used in the new system, thel other two elements. lviza' the skewback support '6 and thelongitudinal tie rods 3. have their functions combined in one, to wit. the skew-back support. -And in the accomplishment of this, of course, the skewback support is made a continuous piece 6 right around the furnace. It is designed of sutlicient tensile strength to resist secondary expansion", and very little extra material is required to make it perform the additional function of skew-back support. There are various ways in which this meinber 6' may be designed. two of which will now be dealt with: (l) In the description of the portion of the new system of binding which lso far has been explained, to wit, the

stays 1 a considerable distance apart, with beams 6 between, to support the skew-backs. Now, in order to make these skew-back beams perform the additional function of a longitudinal tie, they would have to be al1 spliced together and would have to be attached to the binding which would continue around the ends of the furnace. This method of designing the binding is illustratedin Fig. 16, 1n which the splice is yrepresented by the numeral 10 and would be quite practicable; but a furtherv improvement-is embodied in the present invention to wit: (2) In consideration of the principle of making the skew-back support serve as a longitudinal tie, and taking advantage of the fact that the skew-back support would thus be in tension, instead of making the support on the beam principle. it is made on the' suspension bridge principle. consists of a steel band 6 extending e11- tirely around the furnace, the endqof the furnace being rounded or partially so. The band is composed of sections spliced together opposite the buckstays 1, the splices being indicated by the numerals 11 (Figs. 3 and S): and while the band is shown as disconnected from the buckstays, it may if desired. be connected thereto as in the form described in Fig. 16. The buckstays 1 act as abutments, being preferably disposed in pairs cn opposite sides of the furnace, a pair of I-beams (or their equivalents, of which the buckstays are composed) affording an extended bearing for the furnace wall as shown. In the present-embodiment of our invention each pair of buckstays'or I-beams are connected by an outer plate 1:2, thus making practically a single buckstay o1' structural member of the two I-beams, the walls of the furnace, and the band 6 between the buckstays curving or convexing outwardly the desired amount to take the Thus. the skew-back supportl thrust of the skew-back (Figs. 1, Q, 16). In other words. the horizontal curve of the v band (and the outer casing or plate to be presently described) should be such as to correspond to the longitudinal stress in the plate /due to the skew-back thrust. The continuous band 6 referred to does not prevent the "letting out of the buckstays (if it be desired) to correspondwvith the lateral tions of the skew-back support 6 by the splices 11 aforesaid, the casing sections conforming in curvature to-the curved or convexed sections of the walls between successive buckstays (Figs. 1, 2,- 16). 0f course suitableopeiiings are cut in this casing for observation doors, skimming doors, tap holesv and gas/ inlets,Y these features being well understood in the art. By curving the dinal tie to hold the furnace against what has been previously referred'to as secondary expansion. The casing should not of 'course prevent, nor is 1t designed to prevent, primary expansion, but the same is proportioned to prevent its stretching under the primary expansion referred to, beyond its elastic limit, thereby leaving it available to servev ,its function to hold the furnace against the` secondary expansion. ln designing the outer casing care should be exercised to-have the same of uniform strength throughout as nearly as possible so that all I. portions shall be subjected to substantially uniform stretch with the stresses to which the same is subjected under the expansion of the furnace due to a rise in temperature. 1 In other words', no portion of the casing with its'splices, rivets, and the like should be weakened to the breaking point in any elongation. or stretch'which it may suffer under the expanding thrust of the furnace. lt may be stated in passing that thefprimary expansion could be taken care of by providing a compressible material such as mineral wool (not shown) at one orboth ends of the furnacebetweeii the brickwork and outer shell or easing.' f

4.llt lwould. be impracticable to construct horizontal expansion joints in the brickwork to prevent the skew-backs, and hence roof, from being carried up'by' the vertical expansion of the wall, so that this action is not prevented. But there is a. tremendous pressure -on the binding at theskew-baclk line, due to thethrust of the'roof, orarcli,

and in the vertical expansionof the' walls the friction against the bindingfdue to this pres` sure wouldlift the-'same were provision` not made Afor the-"brick at the skew-back-line to slide upward upon it.' -Otherwise if the bindingwere carried up it would not come down to its original/place when thefurnace cooled, and each additional campaign of the'` furnace would carry it farther up until-'the furnace was practically vrinned. This anchoring de wn could be accomplished by havtion between the furnace walls and the shell thereof during the expansions and contractionsof `the walls under variable degrees of temperature, the rivets-1- which serve to connect the shell 13, splices 11, and skew-back supporting band 6 together, are countersunk, leaving a comparatively smooth surface of contact between the walls of the furnace and the shell.,y The walls are thus left free to play over the shell in their expansions and contractions.

lt is of course desirable that suitable provision be made not only for anchoring the buckstays to the foundation or floor, but to provide means for letting out or taking up the buckstays according to the expansion of the roof: -l One method of anchoring the buckstays is by means of anchor bars or ties 15 secured at their upper-ends to pins 16 supported between the members of each pair of buckstays 1, the bars leading down between the buckstays between a air,Y of structural members or channels 17, 1 below the buckstays, the members 17, 17, being held down by' transverse members 18 embedded in the foundation D. 'llhe lower end of each anchor rod is screw threaded, a nut 19 passed over the same engaging the plate or washer 2O bearing against the members 17 (lilig. 5). By a proper adjustment of the nuts any degree of tension may be imposed on the ties 'or anchors 15. To let out or take up the buckstays, we provide suitable adjustable struts or jacks 21 disposed at an incline to the buckstay (or-rather pair of buckstays). -The strut terminates at one end (the upper end) in a substantially semi-cylindrical frmation m, whichengages a corresponding semi-cylindrical cavity or depression n on one face of a cap-piece 22, the opposite face of the cap-piece being provided with a semicylindrical groove g whose'am's isdisposed ,120 arrangement prevents J disposed angularly equal distances kdegrees) apart and equidistant from the axis fofl thecstrut, the threaded portions of the screws operating in screw-threaded sockets 13o in the basal-portion 21 of the strut, the

outer polygonal heads 24 of the screws teiminating 1n semi-spherical depressions o which are engaged by the corresponding surfaces of suitable semi-spherical bearings 25 whose nat faces rest on the bottoms of suitable radially disposed slots or depressions d formed on the outer face of an equalizer member 26, the inner or opposite face of the equalizer being provided with a semi-spherif cal formation e adapted to rest in a corresponding semi-spherical depression or seat if` on the upper end of a base 27 resting on, and secured in any mechanical manner to, the floor C, (or equivalent fixed support). The slots d are disposed in a plane at right anfrom said axis, and spaced angularly equal distances apart. Preferably the geometric center of the semi-spherical formation e of the equalizer lives in the plane of the centers of the semi-spherical bearings 25 when deposited in their slots or depressions d, or in other words. in theplane of the bottoms of said slots. The screws 24 may be manipulated independently by applying a wrench or lever to the heads 24 thereof and the strut 21 ported. It will be obvious that ,the specifi-cl construction of the strut not only permits longitudinal adjustment of the same for the purpose hereinbefore speciiedybut the flexi- A ble or jointed character of the same at eachl end permits the strut to readily yield to'bothy longitudinal and ,lateral movements of the v furnace walls and of the outer casing or shell y claim is :marched roof and supporting walls there 13. with variations oftemperature. equalizer .26 forms. anl admirable the purpose here sought.v

Features' shown but not alluded to are joint for well known in the art and require no de.7

sc tion in the resent connection.

aving descri ed ourinvention what we 1. In combination with a furnace having an arched roof and supporting-walls therefor, a series of buckstays` distributed at intervals..v around thel walls and terminating at the top lof the walls, a fixed support, and flexible means'carried by said .support for maintaining the upper portions of the buckstays in permanent engagement with* said walls.

2. In combination with a furnace having for subjected to an outward thrust, a series of' buckstays disposed at intervals along the walls, the latter convexing outwardly between the buckstays, tension bands interposed between the buclgstays and furnace wall.. andiengaging the walls along" -the skew-back, thehorizontal curve of the con-4 l nace walls for rigidly holding the lower gles to the axis ofthe strut at equal dlstances TheA forming to the longitudinal stress to which the walls and bands are subjected. `3. In combination witha 'furnace having an arched roof and' supporting walls therefor subjected to an outward thrust, a binding for the walls provided with a series of buckstays distributed along the walls and spaced apart, a skew-back beam or member interposed between consecutive buckstays, a series of upright reinforcing members disposed along the walls between the bu'ckstays, and secured at the top to the skew-back beam, and means'independent ofthe furends of said reinforcing members in a fixed position. 4. In combination with a furnace having an arched roof and supporting walls therefor, a binding enveloping the walls, and

.a continuous tension band independent of @the-binding disposed opposite the line of Athe skew-back and operating ,to reinforce the thrust at the skew-back.

5. In combination with a furnace having a roof and substantially parallel supporting -walls Atherefor subjected to a lateral out- .vided/ with av roof and supporting walls therefor, buckstays disposed along the walls at intervals, and .a casing or shell operating as. a tension member and 'having portions curved outwardly between the-buckstays for taking the arch thrust at -the top of the Walls.

7.v In combination with a furnace having a roof and supporting walls therefor, a shellincasing the walls and anchored against upward displacement, said shell comprising a series ofy spliced sections secured by rivets having heads countersunk on' the side facing the furnace, whereby the furnace wall may readily slip along the shell during expansionsA and contractions ofthe wall with the changes in temperature.

8.In combination vwith av furnace. of the character described, a series of -buckstays distributed at intervals 'about the walls of thefurnace and anchored against vertical displacement,-and flexible struts set at an'120 angle to the blckstays and engaging the buckstays with l011e end, the opposite ends of the struts bearing against a fixed support.

9. In combination with avfurnace of the character` described, a series of buckstays 125 distributed at intervals about the walls of the furnace and anchored against verticall displacement, and adjustable 'struts set at an angle to the buckstays and engaging the latter with one end, the opposite ends of. 130

the struts bearing against a fixed support or abutment. Y

10. In combination with a furnace of the character described, a binding for the furnace walls, and struts set at an incline to the Walls and engaging the binding, said struts being flexible to yield in response to expansions and contractions of the furnace in differentI directions.

11. In combination with a furnace of the character described, a binding for the furnace walls, and inclined struts bearing against the walls and binding,y said struts being flexible to respond to longitudinal and transverse vexpansions and contractions of,

the furnace.

12. Incombination with a furnace ofthe character describedya binding for the furnace'walls, and inclined, longitudinally adjustable, axially non-rotatable struts engaging the walls, said struts being flexible to respond to longitudinalv and transverse expansions and contractions of the furnace with variations of temperature.

13. In combination with a furnace of the character described, a binding for the furnace walls, inclined, axially non-rotatable struts engaging the walls, said struts being flexible to respond to longitudinal and transverse dimensional variations of the furnace, and adjusting screws for varying the lengths of the struts.

14. In combination with a buckstay, a strut provided with a terminal substantially semi-cylindrical formation, a cap-piece having a corresponding cavity or depression engaging said formation, and provided with a semi-cylindrical groove opposite said depression with the axis of the groove disposed transversely to the axis of the depression, a pin on the buckstay engaging said groove, and means for supporting the opposite end of the strut.

15. In combination with a furnace of the character described, a series of buckstays or abutments disposed at suitable intervals apart around the furnace walls, tension members spanning the spaces between consecutive buckstays opposite the skew-back and curved outwardly to conform to the stress imposed therein by the thrust of the skewback. I

16. In combination with a furnace of the character described, a series of buckstays disposed about the walls of the furnace, and tension members or ties coupled thereto and to a fixed support for holding the buckstays against vertical displacement.

In testimonywhereof We alix our signatures in presence of vtwo witnesses.

JAMES A. BOW,

PETER THILL. ARCHER E. WHEELER.

Thill Witnesses for James A. JBow and v'Peter 

